Date: October 26th, 2026 12:55 PM Author: Talented smoky filthpig
Koenig was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of businessman Isadore Koenig and his wife Sarah (née Strauss).[1] They moved to the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan when Walter was a child, where he went to school.[2][3] Koenig's parents were Russian Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union; his family had been living in Lithuania when they emigrated, and they shortened their surname from "Königsberg" to "Koenig."[4]
Koenig's father was a communist who was investigated by the FBI during the McCarthy era.[5]
Koenig attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, with a pre-med major. He transferred to UCLA and received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. After a professor encouraged Koenig to become an actor, he attended Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City with fellow students Dabney Coleman, Christopher Lloyd, and James Caan.[4]